National Retails Sales Tax

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that, as proposed, the national sales tax (also called the Fair Tax) would be a 15 percent sales tax on the final purchase of goods and services at the retail level and would include the abolishment of the Internal Revenue Service. The author points out that some of the arguments for the Fair Tax are that all Americans will take home their entire paycheck resulting in revenue neutrality and that there will be no tax on business inputs. The paper relates that some of the arguments against the Fair Tax are the fear of burdening the poor who spend most of their income on retail in contrast to the wealthy who invest much of the income, and the cost of implementing a system of controls.

Table of Contents:
Objective
Introduction
History of U.S. Taxes and Tax Law
War of 1812 - The First Sales Tax
Civil War Effort - The First Income Tax Law
Congress Rules Income Taxes as Unconstitutional
The Sixteenth Amendment - Income Tax made Permanent
World War One
The Great Depression
World War II - Transformation of the Tax System
1981 - The Largest Tax Cut Ever
Yearly New Tax Acts - 1986 through 1990
Tax Acts of President George Bush
World Trade Organization Rules Corporate Tax Provision Illegal
The National Sales Tax
Three Major Proposals - Alternative Reform Initiatives
Another View of the NST
Gregory (2004) agrees with Crawford (2005) most emphatically
Another Vote for Real Reform
Primary arguments of Fair Tax proponents are as follows:
Primary Arguments of Those Against the Fair Tax
Knowledge to Assist in the Comprehension of the Fair Tax Law
The Views Expressed by 'The Ways and Means Committee - Washington"
Regressive Tax System Characteristics
Discussion

From the Paper:

"The proposed 'national sales tax' would be the replacement for the personal income tax, corporate income tax, and estate and gift tax and would have an impact on the U.S. economy, the national standard of living, the cost of compliance and the degree of intrusiveness of the tax system in the lives of U.S. citizens. The NST would stand in the place of all individual and corporate income tax, transfer taxes, as well as most non-trust fund excise taxes with a single 15 percent flat-rate tax on the purchase of final goods and services at the retail level. The rate of 15% would be applicable meaning that an item costing $.85 would cost a total of $1 including tax. he present income tax system in the U.S. has several defects. The National Sales Tax plan is purported to be the answer for correcting those defects."

More papers on National Retails Sales Tax :

• Analytical Essay # 141334 : "The Fair Tax"
• Term Paper # 27381 : "A Taxing Proposition"
• Comparison Essay # 87188 : "Sales Tax Versus Property Tax"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: